"VISUAL ACOUSTICS". The Modernism of Julius Shulman
05/12/2010.
by Eric Bricker
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, VISUAL ACOUSTICS celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman.
Stahl House (CSH22), photographed in 1960.
Bradbury building in 1970.
Case Study House #20 1958.
City Hall 1933.
Chemosphere House (1960).
Culver City Auditorium 1963.
Dome House 1962.
J. Shulman.
Eric Bricker’s biographical documentary of the photographer Julius Shulman.
A champion of Modernist Los Angeles architects, Mr. Shulman, who died at 98 in July, 2009.
Mr. Shulman’s big break came in 1936, from Richard Neutra, who had him document his creations. Mr. Shulman’s talents were also sought by the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe.
Later we meet many of Mr. Shulman’s prosperous colleagues and supporters still living: Frank Gehry (who says Mr. Shulman got him his first client), Ed Ruscha, Tom Ford, the actress Kelly Lynch and the screenwriter Mitch Glazer. At times it seems as much a tour of well-to-do Los Angeles and Palm Springs as a portrait of its subject. (An amusing historical montage, which races through the origins of California Modernism, "may baffle those uneducated on the subject. But this film is not for them" by Andy Webster, from The New York Times).
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Julius SHULMAN
Julius Shulman´s photography (October 10, 1910 – July 15, 2009) spread California Mid-century modern around the world. Through his many books, exhibits and personal appearances his work ushered in a new appreciation for the movement beginning in the 1990s.
Some of his architectural photographs, like the iconic shots of Frank Lloyd Wright's or Pierre Koenig's remarkable structures, have been published countless times. The brilliance of buildings like those by Charles Eames, as well as those of his close friends, Richard Neutra and Raphael Soriano, was first brought to light by Shulman's photography. The clarity of his work demanded that architectural photography had to be considered as an independent art form. Each Shulman image unites perception and understanding for the buildings and their place in the landscape. The precise compositions reveal not just the architectural ideas behind a building's surface, but also the visions and hopes of an entire age. A sense of humanity is always present in his work, even when the human figure is absent from the actual photographs.
Many of the buildings photographed by Shulman have since been demolished or re-purposed, lending to the popularity of his images.
Some of his architectural photographs, like the iconic shots of Frank Lloyd Wright's or Pierre Koenig's remarkable structures, have been published countless times. The brilliance of buildings like those by Charles Eames, as well as those of his close friends, Richard Neutra and Raphael Soriano, was first brought to light by Shulman's photography. The clarity of his work demanded that architectural photography had to be considered as an independent art form. Each Shulman image unites perception and understanding for the buildings and their place in the landscape. The precise compositions reveal not just the architectural ideas behind a building's surface, but also the visions and hopes of an entire age. A sense of humanity is always present in his work, even when the human figure is absent from the actual photographs.
Many of the buildings photographed by Shulman have since been demolished or re-purposed, lending to the popularity of his images.
